"...especially for comics...."

Had a friend ask if the graphic novel, WINTERMEN, was any good.

"It's very good," I said. "In fact, it's very, very good."

Jim doesn't read a lot of comics, but he likes well-written crime stories, like AMERICAN CENTURY, and SCALPED.

"It's got some non-stereotypical Russian mobsters. It's authentic feeling....especially for comics."

He bought the GN and left, but after he was gone I started wincing about it.

"...especially for comics."

What the hell did I mean by that? Is there a part of me who still looks down at comics?

Because the older I get, the more I subscribe to Sturgeon's Law.

There are cliched Russians in every media, movies, books, T.V., everywhere. Well-rounded, authentic feeling characters are rare in every medium.

I came to comics from the outside, and sometimes I fall back on old ways of thinking. Even though when I put my thoughts into a couple deeper layers, I think the above statement -- "especially for comics" is pretty meaningless.

I take comfort in the fact that I also fall into old habits with the issue of 'kids' and 'comics'. I've mentioned before that 'kids' may be the smallest segment of my customer base. But I still will fall back on the "kids" and the "collecting" phraseology, even though I don't really believe in it anymore.

Even my "kids" section, would be more properly titled "parents" section, for those few parents whose kids read and who are willing to try comics.

So the answer should have been: "The Russians in this book are really well-written, without the usual cliches...."